Emotions can feel like a roller coaster ride with ups and downs and sudden turns. The uncertainty of COVID and the changing rules require constant adjusting. And not being able to make plans, we can experience a complete lack of control.
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Sir Ken Robinson, you will be sorely missed. Sir Ken Robinson, may you continue to be a great source of encouragement for all of us as educators and teacher trainers who aspire to find innovative ways to teach the whole child.
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My friend Annie Paraison shared some insightful ideas about racism in Part 1. Now I will discuss my thoughts on some of the points she raised. As well, I will challenge you to educate yourself and your students and have provided some ideas below.
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Annie was in my group at Berkeley last summer, where we participated in an international conference for teachers on social and emotional learning (SEL). Our close-knit group still meets regularly on Zoom, supporting each other through breakdowns and celebrating breakthroughs. The other day I asked Annie, who lives in the U.S., what it is like being black with so much visible outrage boiling all around us. She gave some food for thought.
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Analogical Problem-Solving ™ is what I call teaching by living inside a story such as the Us and Them unit. Students have agency/voice to make decisions inside their class story, an analogy of life. As teachers, we carefully follow their suggestions and integrate lessons as we plan strategies that allow them to discover their learning. Students learn real-life lessons without real-life consequences. They realize at a profound level that we have so much in common. We are all connected. Ultimately the students decide war is not worth the enormous human cost. And they internalize that we are all part of the human race.